Mary hears you in this sacred place

Near Avignon in southern France, on the bridge of the river Auzon, is the chapel of Notre-Dame de Santé (Our Lady of Health). It was inaugurated on January 16, 1630. At first a simple oratory built for the benefit of the bridge guards, then transformed into a chapel, it was placed under the special protection of the Virgin Mary and in 1562, in the middle of the war of religion between Huguenots and Catholics, the bridge resisted the assaults of the troops of Baron des Adrets, leader of the Huguenots.

During the great plague of 1628, the Virgin Mary again manifested her protection: the inhabitants were ordered not to leave the town, and the soldiers of the Auzon Bridge were tasked to enforce this order. Two weeks into the epidemic, more than 3,000 people had already died. But on July 10, 1628, at 3 o’clock in the morning, the inhabitants of the Auzon area were awakened from their sleep by the bell ringing in the bridge chapel. To their astonishment, the bell was ringing all by itself! From that night on, the number of fatalities sharply decreased and in the following month, the epidemic stopped. On January 16, 1630, the consuls drew up a foundation act stipulating, among other things, the celebration of a daily Mass.

Today, the tradition is still alive. After a torchlight procession, a "Mass of the Vow of the Consuls" is celebrated every year on July 10th at 3 a.m. Monks from the monastery of Le Barroux (Vaucluse department) take part in the Mass, as well as local officials.

The chapel is famous for many small "miracles": a reassuring health examination, a grace of healing, or a job found, among others. "It’s not exactly Lourdes, says a nun attending the Mass. But when you come to pray to the Blessed Virgin in this chapel, she listens to you." Nicole, 59, also remembers two little girls from catechism class, aged 3 and 5, who came to the chapel to pray for their older sister who had cancer: "At the next scan, the cancer had disappeared," they told her.

The Marie de Nazareth editorial team

Adapted from: Famille Chretienne